On Friday July 26 we decided to just rest for several hours, as we needed a break from the recent “go go go” sightseeing. So we hung out at Voyageur Provincial Park until almost 4:00 PM, first at our campsite and then at the beach, even though we knew it would put us behind our loose schedule. As we were leaving, Rhonda called her friend Nathalie Fortin, who invited us to have dinner with her and spend the night at her place in Victoriaville, which is about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City and a little south of the main highway. It was a quick trip to Montreal but we got there right at rush hour, so it was slow going in heavy traffic for a while. We got to Victoriaville a little before 8:00 PM, and met Nathalie and her two dogs. She cooked us a wonderful dinner, even though she had already eaten at a friend’s house (it was her birthday), and even had a cake with “Bienvenue a Quebec” written on it in icing. The girls also enjoyed playing with her wii game, even though a lot of it was in French, and we all got to sleep in real beds for a change.
Saturday July 27 was Day 36 of our 72 day trip – the mid-way mark! Nathalie prepared us a great breakfast, and her friend and neighbour (also named Nathalie) and her son James also came over. The friend Nathalie used to live in Quebec City, and downloaded and e-mailed us a lot of great information about things to see, bus routes, where to park, etc. We said our good-byes and thank-you’s and drove east to a big mall on the north side of Quebec City where we were able to park the RV for several hours (unfortunately Salty had to stay behind again). Inside the mall we were able to buy full-day bus passes for Rhonda and I (the kids were free), with the help of another customer who was able to translate for us. We rode the bus to the edge of Vieux-Quebec (old Quebec City), where we got caught up in the crowds that were arriving for a Celine Dion concert at the Plains of Abraham. We walked through the streets of the old city, went into the lobby of the hotel that we had stayed in 10 years ago when Shannon was just 6 months old, and enjoyed the street entertainment, before having dinner at a café in the really old part of town, below the walled city. We then went down to the harbor, where we saw a free Cirque du Soleil show, and as we were leaving the harbor area they were showing an old black and white film that was being projected onto buildings along the docks. We caught the bus we had been told to catch, but going the wrong direction, and ended up back where the Celine Dione show was getting out, and had to go back in the other direction. After a marathon bus ride back to mall (Salty was very happy to see us!) we drove across street to a Wal-Mart to park for night.
On Sunday July 28 I went into the Wal-Mart to buy a few supplies, and then bought breakfast at the McDonalds inside the store, where I had to use my rather rusty high school French in order to place my order. We then drove south across river, east to Riviere-du-Loup, and south to the New Brunswick border.
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